Jennifer Wetzel

Gorgeous Jennifer Wetzel proves that, yes, sometimes you can judge a book by its cover! Jennifer, 30, grew up lost in books. Today she's the librarian at Lone Oak/Hendron Elementary School. Check out her Top 10 kids' books for the holidays!

Jennifer Wetzel, you are cute, cute, cute, no doubt about it! And I love that you're an elementary school librarian. My elementary school librarian didn't look anything like you!
Hah! That's nice of you to say!

What prompted you to become a librarian?
I've always wanted to be a librarian — ever since I was a little girl. I was the kid who always got lost in books.

No!
Yes! Growing up, my favorite place to go was always the library. Our public library had story time each Saturday, and my dad would take my sisters and me. The ladies at the library had such a big influence on me. They'd say, "We got a big shipment of books, and we saved this one just for you." It made me feel special.

Which library?
The Mitchell-Carnegie Library in Harrisburg, Ill. It was one of those beautiful old Carnegie buildings with the big wooden desks and big arches. It was inspiring — it felt like a second home.

When I turned 15, I worked in the children's section after school for a couple of hours. And then during the summers in college, they kept giving me more responsibilities.

Where did you go to college?
I got my undergraduate degree in library science from Murray State, and then I went to Kent State for my master's degree in library and information science. I worked as a high school librarian for three years in Ravenna, Ohio. I wanted to be back home near my parents. When I moved back, McCracken County had two elementary school openings. I got the Lone Oak/Hendron job.

I bet your library is so cute!
I like to think so. I try, but Hendron is one of the few schools that hasn't been renovated yet. We have a small library — it's just a little larger than a regular classroom. But I told my principal, it's not just what's in the building — it's who's in the building. The important thing is that we serve the kids. We try to make it as fun and entertaining as we can.

With video games and all that, do kids even read today?
All the time. At this age, we can't keep them out of the library!

Well, that's because you're so pretty.
No, no. One of the reasons I wanted to work in an elementary school is that at this age, kids are still interested in learning. They want to learn everything.

Kids are so impressionable. When a teacher reads them a book, the whole class wants to come to the library and get that exact same book or something like it. It shows how important their teachers are to them.

What do kids like to read?
A broad range of things. They still love the Harry Potter series, and they love American Chillers and Michigan Chillers. All kids love animals, so any kind of animal book is popular, whether it's fiction or non-fiction.

I get to see every student, and there's just a wide range of personalities that make each day so fun.

Do they call you Ms. Wetzel?
Yes.

How cute! What makes a really good librarian?
You have to have fun and be willing to put yourself out there, whether it's dressing up or using technology…. You have to be flexible, creative and willing to try new things.

I work closely with the teachers. Ultimately, the purpose of the library is to serve everybody. So I'm always looking to see what the kids are learning in the classroom and then making sure I back that up with books and other resources in the library.

Which books did you love growing up?
I loved anything about World War II. Number the Stars by Lois Lowry was one of my favorites. It was about a girl who was able to smuggle her best friend, who was Jewish, out of Denmark. I also loved the Anne of Green Gables series. I would love to go to Prince Edward Island and see the Anne of Green Gables museum. And I still love mysteries.

Who do you read today?
Harlan Coben is one of my favorite authors. He writes a suspenseful thriller type of series. He'll have his character face an issue that, for yourself, you'd think you'd never do what his character does. But then he puts the character in a shade of grey and that makes you rethink your position. And then there's always something in the ending that throws you off track. His books are real page turners.

I also like Mary Higgins Clark and her daughter, Carol Higgins Clark. And I love the Shopaholics series by Sophie Kinsella. If you love to shop, those books are hilarious.

Have you thought about writing your own book?
I’m just finishing one. I spoke at a national school librarians' conference last fall, and the editor of Upstart, which is a publisher of professional resources for librarians, asked me to write a book of lesson plans for elementary school libraries. So I worked on that this summer. It should be published in 2009.

Wow, congratulations!
I want to write a children's book next. But this will be a good start.

So y'all librarians are always talking about censorship. Are you fer it or agin it?
I had a professor at Murray State who put it the right way: Every librarian is a censor whether we want to be or not. We're given a certain amount of money and we spend that money using our own judgment. We think about who our audience is, what they want and how they're going to feel about the materials we select. Since we can’t possibly buy everything available, our purchases automatically censor what our audience has access to.

At the elementary level, we don't get into that as much because we're still a safe haven. But there are times when I've disappointed some girls because they've seen a series their sisters or cousins in junior high are reading, but I don't have those books in my library because I don't think they're appropriate at this age.

Censorship is a hard topic even within the library profession. I think that all librarians strive to know who their audience is and make their purchasing decisions based on their needs. And, since librarians are the ones hired to make those decisions because of their professional training and education, I think that we should leave those decisions with them.

Rock on! So what do you do when you're not immersed in kids and books?
Well, we get our summers and holidays off. So I save my money so I can travel. Last summer, my mom and I went on a steamboat cruise from New Orleans to Memphis. I've always wanted to do that because when I was young, I loved Mark Twain books — Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. So we got to stop at all the places along the Mississippi River.

Two years ago I went to Germany. And next summer I'd like to go to Canada or Alaska.

I also usually take continuing education classes at Murray. And I love to walk — I love the Greenway Trail in Noble Park. I can't wait until they add more to it.

I know! I love that trail, too. It's gorgeous.
And I started running this summer. I wanted to see if I could do a half marathon, so I trained for the Evansville YMCA Half Marathon in October.

That's so awesome! How'd you do?
Well, since it was my first attempt at something like that, I was glad to just finish! I finished under three hours, which was my goal. I hope to continue training and improve my running skills! I don’t want to be at the end of the pack anymore! I trained for it using a computerized schedule. You plug in a date and it calculates how much you should run in the months prior to the race. So that really helped.

What else do you like to do?
This is really going to sound like a librarian when I tell you. I love to knit. I love With Ewe in Mind on Broadway — they have great yarns. And I love to scrapbook. Those Were the Days on Broadway also has the cutest things.

What do you scrapbook?
I do all my trips. I love to add ribbon and flowers, and I love going back and looking at them later. It's fun look at those memories and see how you've changed from back then to now.

Will you scrapbook our iDate of the Week interview?
Probably.

Jennifer, you are so cute. What's up with your love life?
Hum…..

Is it hard to meet people here?
Well, we have a small population and everyone seems to know each other. And sometimes there seems to be more people involved in your personal life than there should, which can scare off prospective dates!

But the people I work with are always fixing me up. I've had some good dates and some not-good dates.

What kind of fella are you looking for?
Someone nice and kind-hearted. Somebody who enjoys their work and who likes to travel and go and see places. I'd like a nice Christian guy who shares the same morals and values that I have.

Where do you go to church?
Heartland Worship Center.

Wow, that's a big church! No cuties there?
There are always cuties there!

What's your idea of a great date?
Not the movies. A nice dinner, but not anything too extravagant or too long. I like doing things that are fun and original, and where you can get a chance to talk to that person and see them in a real situation. Something that isn't forced. I'm always up for anything.

Well Ms. Wetzel, I suspect there will be lots of fellas lining up to check you out for the holidays! You're DAR-LING!

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